American League Championship Series

In the April 16 article on Cubs President Andy MacPhail, McPhail states that in 1987, after the Twins won the American League Championship Series and the team arrived at the airport, "I have never seen such a reception, and I never will again." Andy, bring a championship to Wrigley Field and I guarantee that you'll see a celebration you've never seen or will ever see again. Go Cubs.

DETROIT - The lengths of the American League Championship Series games have been a topic again after a pair of 1-0 games lasted nearly four and 31/2 hours. Naturally, everyone blames the Red Sox and their patient at-bats for the marathons, though Tigers manager Jim Leyland said there are many "culprits. " "In postseason, we're basically playing - and I don't want anybody to take this wrong - a Red Sox-Yankees in-season game," Leyland said. "They seem to go a long time. If...

Facing the World Champion Toronto Blue Jays has been no easy task for the Chicago White Sox in the American League Championship Series. These birds are cagey. They've walked Frank Thomas nine times - taking the bat away from the Sox's biggest potential hurt to them. But Frank made them pay for pitching to him in Game 4 with a home run. The Sox hurt themselves early in the series, leaving 23 runners on base in Games 1 and 2. The good guys fought back in Games 3 and 4 and took two big wins in...

BOSTON - The American League Championship Series has lived up to the hype so far, with a pair of instant classics in the first two games. A near combined no-hitter in Game 1 was followed by a stirring late-inning comeback in Game 2, with a Kodak moment - the juxtaposition of Torii Hunter's legs after flipping over the right-field fence and the raised arms of a Boston cop celebrating David Ortiz's grand slam - for the ages. "We pretty much need that momentum," Ortiz said....

Robert Wuhl (formerly of HBO's Arli$$) was at last Saturday's game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, sitting behind home plate with a friend, Bill Blumenreich, owner of a Boston comedy club. Wuhl was telling Blumenreich it was a shame that Grady Little was fired as Red Sox manager last year for, as Wuhl put it, "leaving in the best pitcher in baseball for one pitch too long," in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. At that point, Wuhl said, Theo Epstein, the...

The Sports Xchange Rain postpones Game 4 of ALCS, rescheduled for Thursday DETROIT -- Rain has postponed what could be the deciding Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Major League Baseball officials waited as long as they could, but when it became apparent around 9:15 pm ET that rain would not let up any time soon, it was decided to postpone the game until Thursday. The tentative first pitch Thursday is slated for 4:07 pm ET, according to AL...

DETROIT -- Game 4 of the American League Championship Series was postponed due to a dire forecast. Though it was not raining, MLB announced around 8:15 p.m. that the game was postponed to "preserve the integrity of an uniterrupted nine inning game. " Game 4 will be played at 3 p.m. Chicago time, on Thursday. The rescheduled game is slotted for what would have been the Game 5 (had it been necessary) starting time. If necessary, Game 5 will be played Friday at a time to be announced.

DETROIT -- Game 4 of the American League Championship Series was postponed due to a dire forecast. Though it was not raining, MLB announced around 8:15 p.m. that the game was postponed to "preserve the integrity of an uniterrupted nine inning game. " Game 4 will be played at 3 p.m. Chicago time, on Thursday. The rescheduled game is slotted for what would have been the Game 5 (had it been necessary) starting time. If necessary, Game 5 will be played Friday at a time to be announced.

Ken Harrelson may not be calling the White Sox games during the playoffs, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy. Harrelson's phone has been ringing so much that he had to change his number. Last Thursday, he said he received eight requests for interviews. "It's been crazy," said Harrelson, from his home in Orlando. "The phone doesn't stop ringing. But it's better than the alternative. I hope this happens every October." Harrelson said he is getting a thrill out of watching the Sox play "great...

Terry Francona has plenty of supporters within the Chicago White Sox's organization, but he's not sure he wants to manage in 2012 after severing ties with Boston after eight mercurial seasons. "I don't know, guys" Francona told Boston radio station WEEI on Wednesday. "I really don't know. I think I'd certainly love to stay in the game. I have no ambitions to ever leave the game. I love it so much and it's been so good to me. "I don't want to try to manage in a wrong...

Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra called Boston catcher Jason Varitek after the American League Championship Series to congratulate him and wish his former teammates luck in the World Series. "He's happy for us," Varitek said. "But I'm sure there's a part of him that wishes he was here." After the trade the Boston media portrayed Garciaparra as a sulking loner who just wanted to get out of town. That was in contrast to his easygoing relationship with the Chicago media. Varitek...

NEW YORK—The upstart, under-respected Rangers, who started as baseball's laughingstock as the Washington Senators, are one victory away from their first World Series. And they have three chances to do it, starting Wednesday at Yankee Stadium where they already have won Games 3 and 4 of the American League Championship Series. Their latest triumph was dominant, 10-3, Tuesday night over a Yankee team that has been outpitched and outhit while going down three games to one. Game 5...

The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were to reprise their 2008 American League Championship Series on Monday, but bad weather in Boston forced a postponement, so they joined the White Sox and the Kansas City Royals as spectators for baseball's official Opening Day. Of course, had the game been scheduled for Florida, weather would not have been a concern, as the Rays play under a dome at Tropicana Field. The Reds and Mets slogged through rain and mid-30s temperatures in Cincinnati and...

The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were to reprise their 2008 American League Championship Series on Monday, but bad weather in Boston forced a postponement, so they joined the White Sox and the Kansas City Royals as spectators for baseball's official Opening Day. Of course, had the game been scheduled for Florida, weather would not have been a concern, as the Rays play under a dome at Tropicana Field. The Reds and Mets slogged through rain and mid-30s temperatures in Cincinnati and...

Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little said he's not sure he wants to be back with the team next season, according to a published report. Little, second-guessed for keeping Pedro Martinez on the mound in the team's 6-5 11th inning loss to the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, will not be surprised if he's fired. "I'm prepared for the likelihood," Little told the Boston Globe. "I am not sure that I want to manage that team. That's how I felt when I drove out of...

After enduring 11 taxing innings in a loss that took nearly 51/2 hours to complete, the Red Sox have more than the comfort of Fenway Park to raise their awareness level for Monday's Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, the spark plug of the Red Sox's lineup, has accelerated his production to match the confidence and intensity that has made him an AL Most Valuable Player candidate. Pedroia, who is generously listed at 5 feet 9 inches, hit...

The Sports Xchange Rain postpones Game 4 of ALCS, rescheduled for Thursday DETROIT -- Rain has postponed what could be the deciding Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Major League Baseball officials waited as long as they could, but when it became apparent around 9:15 pm ET that rain would not let up any time soon, it was decided to postpone the game until Thursday. The tentative first pitch Thursday is slated for 4:07 pm ET, according to AL...

It wasn't a sweep, but it was just as sweet. The Red Sox needed one more game than they usually do when playing the Angels in the American League Division Series, but the outcome was the same, riding a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by rookie Jed Lowrie for a 3-2 victory in Game 4 at Fenway Park, taking the series 3 games to 1. The Angels avoided their third consecutive division series sweep in five years at the hands of the...

If Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) doesn't make it to U.S. Cellular Field this weekend for the start of the World Series between the Sox and the Houston Astros, he'll be watching the game somewhere. Obama is a longtime Sox fan who got a thrill when he was asked to throw out the first pitch at the Cell during the American League Championship Series. "Some of these politicians, they try to say they like all the teams and this and that and the other," Obama told Armour & Co. "My attitude is, I'm a...

Orlando Cabrera observed the mood on the White Sox's charter flight from Tampa late Friday night and took the clubhouse temperature before Saturday's workout. And it brought back positive thoughts similar to what Cabrera experienced in 2004 with Boston when the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to overtake the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. "We're pretty calm," Cabrera said. "People are pretty confident we can come back. It seems like we're back where we...